- Thinking it would be freezing at night, I wore the fleece, the windstopper and wrapped myself in the blankets like a mummy. Turned out it was pretty warm, and I woke up during the night to take off my jacket. Sweet!
- Woke up at 6 am without an alarm clock. The villagers served us banana pancakes with caramel topping and cocoa tea for breakfast. How slick was that? Totally energized for the 4 hr ascent.
- After breakfast, we passed the village of Malata (2350 m) where we visited a local museum. Approximately 2 more hours of downhill trekking, we reached the Oasis Sangalle (2000 m). Here we were told that this would be the end of trekking of the day. Inns at Cabanaconde were fully booked, and we would stay at Oasis for the night. Good news was that Oasis Sangalle was exactly what its name imply - an oasis/paradise with a lukewarm swimming pool and bungalow houses made of bamboo, definitely a great place to relax and chill. Bad news was that tomorrow is no longer a ´lazy´day´ since we had to start our uphill trek at 5 in the morning on empty stomach. Yikes.
- Camilla opted for a swim and I preferred the sunbath. After lunch, Roger led the team down to the river and we spent the rest of the afternoon listening to Hue (a guy from another trekking group) playing guitar and singing folk songs.
- During dinner, a Brit couple Amy and Rob joined us at our table. Among other interesting things, they talked about their attempt of the Chachani hike (6057m) with a tour of 6 and the only person to successfully reach the summit was a 60-plus guy. After retirement, this guy (and his wife) sold everything they owned and started traveling the world. Not the 5-star luxury type, but the backpacker type where they carry with them cooking stoves, utensils and stuff, not knowing where their next destination will be. They have doing this for 7 years and plan to travel until they die. The only time they returned home in the past 7 years was to attend their son´s wedding. What a way to live one´s life.
- Totally not looking forward to tomorrow´s uphill trek. What was I thinking when I signed up for this trek?
